𝕺𝖜𝖓 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝕰𝖓𝖊𝖒𝖞

- CHAPTER SIXTEEN -
A CLOSE CALL

SO IT TURNED out Ellie had found another small way to annoy Joel - with whistling. She'd finally managed to carry a tune. Their banter didn't last long though as they soon ran into more hunters at the military checkpoint, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.

Once they were dealt with, Ellie whipped out her trusty joke book and told them some corny jokes that let them enjoy the moment of peace. They cleared through more hunters in the library, taking the more silent approach until they were in the down town area. It was completely flooded and they watched some hunters move above the water by walking across a plank and into what used to be some fancy hotel.

"Alright, I don't think they saw us." Joel breathed out in relief, standing up from his crouched position behind a taxi.

"There's our bridge. We're a little closer." Ellie grinned and then she paused, "I think."

"Let's keep at it. C'mon."

Ellie stopped when she noticed a poster of a woman on one of the walls and she backtracked to get a closer look, "That girl is so skinny. I thought you had plenty of food in your time."

"Oh we did. Some just chose not to eat it." Joel said.

"Why the hell not?" The teen asked.

"Society made women believe that a smaller body was more attractive. They'd rather starve themselves than have some belly fat." Her aunt explained, still staring at the poster. She used to be like that, a long long time ago. It's amazing how your priorities change when the end of the world comes along.

"That's stupid." Ellie scoffed and pulled out her joke book again, "Okay, it's time to lighten the mood. 3.14% of sailors are Pi Rates."

"3.14..." Joel murmered.

"If you can't remember, old man, that's Pi's numerical form." Kathy joked.

"I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went. Then it dawned on me."

Kathy smiled, "That's a dad joke if I ever heard one."

"What did the mermaid wear to her math class?"

"What?"

"An algae bra." Ellie laughed.

"Terrible."

"Why did the scarecrow get a promotion? Because he was outstanding in his field."

"That'll do. Put that thing away."

"Okay..." Ellie sighed, shoving the book in the back pocket of her jeans, "I'm all joked out. Now what?"

Joel surveyed the gap between the crate and the bus peeking out the surface of the water, "I can't make that jump."

"If you get me up there, I can move that plank." Ellie suggested.

"Wait here!" Joel told the girls, wading further into the water until he was swimming away. "Let's see where this goes."

He came back soon after, pushing a pallet in front of him. Kathy was in the water now as well whilst Ellie was stood on top of one of the cars, the water was to deep for her to go in. THe sound of guns going off and tires squelling a little way aways caused their heads to shoot upwards.

"What was that all about?" Ellie asked as Joel pushed the pallet up against the car for her to get on.

"Nothing good." Kathy told her, casting a worried look to Joel as she floated beside him, her legs kicking underwater slowly to stay afloat.

"Get on." Joel told the teen, ignoring her question. "We're cutting through the hotel."

Ellie jumped onto the pallet and he manouevered them around in the murky water, Kathy swimming close behind, until Ellie could jump up on top of the bus, "Whoa, easy..."

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna drop ya."

Ellie picked up the plank and dropped it down so that Kathy and Joel could cross the gap. "Alright. Now you guys just need to find a way up."

The two adults swam into the flooded cafe opposite the hotel. Ellie had crossed the plank and joined them there, walking down the ramp, "Aww, this place stinks!"

"Yeah, wood's all rotten." Joel replied as he lotted the place.

"Did you go to coffee shops a lot?" Ellie asked them.

"I did. All the time." He answered.

Kathy let out a small chuckle, "Practically lived in one."

"And what would you get?"

"Just...Just coffee."

"And perhaps a lot of women's phone numbers?" Kathy teased and then gasped when she saw his caught off guard expression, "Oh my, you were a stud!"

"I wasn't." Joel denied, looking a little embarrassed. "I never called any of them. Didn't have the time."

Ellie went back through the way she came, leaving the two alone momentarily. She could tell they were about to have a moment and she didn't necessarily want to third wheel.

"How come?" Kathy asked nonchalantly as she picked up a chipped coffee mug from one of the tables.

"I needed to take care of my...daughter." Joel replied slowly. It still hurt to think about Sarah, he didn't even know how he was willing to talk about it with Kathy.

Kathy's brows raised in surprise, she really hadn't expected that at all. Joel had a daughter? Where was she now? Judging by his tone, something bad had happened. He probably didn't want to talk about her.

She reached out and grasped his hand in her own. His palm was rough and calloused, but so was hers...and he was warm. He turned to look down at her and she squeezed his fingers in a comforting manner, "What was her name?"

"Sarah." There was so much pain in his voice when he said her name. He hadn't said it aloud in years, it hurt too much.

Kathy's eyes held so much understanding, he was glad she didn't pity him. She squeezed his hand again and smiled, "I bet she was a daddy's girl."

"Yeah...she was." He breathed, he was glad she didn't press any further. She was happy learning something new about him, he was so guarded. It meant a lot to her that he revealed something so important about himself.

Nothing else needed to be said, they were content with it ending there and they turned their focus to getting into the hotel across the street. They walked up the ramp and across the plank, and to the large broken window above the fancy hotel sign.

"Do you think those hunters are gone?" Ellie questioned when the adults came back into her view.

"We're about to find out." Joel said as he dropped down the ledge and into the hotel. He glanced around before saying, "It's clear ladies, come on down."

Kathy and Ellie joined him on the ground floor, their feet plopping into the cold water. Kathy had given up on trying to keep her feet dry at this point, she'd just have to get used to the squelching noises as she walked.

"Whoa...this is fancy." Ellie gasped, "You ever stay in a place like this? Before it all went to shit I mean."

"No," Joel replied, "No, this is too rich for my blood."

"Mine too." Kathy agreed.

"Oh, I bet it was nice." Ellie then perked up when she noticed a ledge, "Bet we can get up there."

Kathy nodded and went off to find something to climb on, she came back carrying a ladder. It had been leaning against some scaffolding - the hotel had probably been under construction when everything happened. She placed it against the ledge and they climbed up.

"Okay, we need to lighten the mood. Ready?" Ellie huffed, getting out her joke book, "It doesn't matter how much you push the envelope. It'll still be stationary."

"What is that?" Joel asked, looking at the small book in her hands.

"It's a joke book. No Pun Intended: Volume Too by Will Livingston."

Joel sighed, "Let's keep going."

"Oh, come on, Joel. Let her have some fun." Kathy tutted, watching Ellie fondly as she smiled.

Ellie returned to the book, "I tried to catch some fog earlier. I mist. Do you know what's not right?"

"Left?" Kath joined in.

"Yeah!" Ellie laughed, "That's awesome. What does a pirate say while eating sushi?"

"I don't know, what?" Joel replied, disinterested.

"Ahoy! Pass me some soy!" The teen paused, "I don't get it."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo."

"People are making apocalypse jokes like there's no tomorrow. Too soon?" She continued and then put the book away, "That's it, that's all I got."

Joel stepped past them, shimmying up the broken stairs and onto the terrace of the second floor - there was a group of hunters lurking about inside gossiping as they roamed the place.

"This tourist put up one hell of a fight. It took two of us to put 'em down." One of the hunters told his buddy, Kathy could see them walk past when she peeked over the window.

"How many of them is that now?" The second hunter asked.

"Five this week. But hey, I'm not complaining."

"I bet you're not. We done here?"

"We got another floor to check, man." The first hunter replied.

"Check for what? I ain't seen a clicker in weeks."

"That's 'cause we're thorough. We're gonna keep being thorough. Now let's wrap this up, right?"

"Alright, whatever."

The two hunters then separated walking into different rooms, allowing Joel and Kathy to climb in through the window and stealth kill them. And they kept doing that, working their way up each level and working together to sneak around and take out the hunters one by one. Kathy didn't think their teamwork could get any better.

They made it to an elevator - their only choice since the stairs were blocked off. Joel grunted loudly as he forced the doors to open, it had taken great effort, but he got it done. There was a ladder perched on top of the lift roof for them to climb and make their way around the elevator shaft.

Joel was the first one up, "Let's see where this goes."

Ellie pushed the ladder down after them, it fell with a loud clang as it hit the floor down below, "Just in case."

Joel squeezed through a small gap that joined with the other elevator shaft, "It's gonna be a tight fit but come on." He then jumped down on top of the other elevator, the cables rattling and shaking as he landed with a thump. Two more thumps followed when Kathy and Ellie followed him down. He got into position to hoist up the girls and looked at Kathy, "You find me something to climb on. Okay, here we go."

Kathy nodded and with his help, she was able to jump up to the next level. Cables started snapping, her eyes widening when the lift started to tremble and she reached her hand down, "Quickly! Take my hand!"

"Take Ellie first!" Joel exclaimed, struggling for balance as he lifted up Ellie for Kathy to pull her up.

She did as told, thinking that he had a plan - only to watch helplessly as fell down what must have been several floors, splashing into the dark water of the flooded basement level.

"Joel!" Ellie and Kathy called out in worry as they looked for him.

"Joel! You better not be dead or I'll kill you!" Kathy hollered, hoping desperately for a response and she got one.

"I'm alright!" Joel assured from below, gasping as he resurfaced. "Are you two okay?"

"No!" Ellie retorted, "You scared the shit outta us!"

"We'll uh... We'll climb down to you, okay?" Kathy suggested, looking around for a safe passage down.

Joel was quick to deny her suggestion, "No! Stay up there. I'll make my way up to you."

Kathy ran a hand down her face when he left their view, that was a close call. He could've been seriously hurt and she had no clue what they would've done if he had been. They'd come so far already and for him to get taken out by a faulty elevator - well that would just be embarrasing.

"I never fucking like elevators." She cursed, "I always said they were a death trap." Then she pointed her finger at Ellie, "You are never going in an elevator again for as long as I live, you hear me?"

Ellie gulped, "Yes Ma'am."

Kathy nodded in satisfaction, "Good. Now we play the waiting game. I hate waiting." She squinted her eyes when she noticed Ellie's little smirk. "What?"

"Don't worry, your boyfriend will be back soon."

The brunette gasped and pulled her niece into a headlock, ruffling her hair, "You little shit!"

"I'm just saying the truth!" Ellie giggled, trying to pull away.

❝IT'S NO SURPRISE TO ME, I AM MY OWN WORST ENEMY❞